It’s nearly 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month, and Catherine Chapey is sitting at home in Holtsville, Long Island, making preparations for a social highlight of her week — a virtual meeting with a group of people who claim to have experienced close encounters with extraterrestrial life.

Chapey, a former electrician and an ordained “interspiritual minister,” found herself in the role of den mother to the eclectic and growing gathering after having her own brush with the otherworldly — subsequently reaching out into the known universe to find out if there weren’t more just like her.

Starting with a small, in-person gathering at her local public library, she now has a mailing list of thousands — some participants beaming in from as far as Japan and New Zealand.

One by one, Chapey

See Full Page